Print evaluation

Print was my second and final textile option for this year. Have to say I really enjoyed print  matching the colours to my  colour palette could at times be quite challenging. I did love the drawing and it was so nice to sit down mix paints  to do my hand designs.  I forgotten how relaxing it was to sit down and paint without a care in the world, mind you on the other hand, painting can be very frustrating if the image is not turning out as you wanted it to!

 This is the colour palette that I've been working with.

 These images are of my flower data and my printed Illustrator
images on fabric. 

 These are my hand-painted designs in my  colour palette.

 It was very exciting to receive your screen with your own motif designs on knowing you will be printing these images onto your chosen fabric.
The first day in the print room was quite daunting having never properly screen printed before. Nothing is quite as exciting as taking the screen off the fabric for the first time and see your own images there before your very eyes. I must admit I got carried away and used fabric that was not in my colour palette but I wanted to try them. In some cases I actually dyed the fabric with coffee so it would tone down the background to blend in with my colour palette. Had a go at tie-dyeing but it is not my favourite look.
 I remember when it was very popular back in the 70s and I wasn't keen on it then, maybe I would use it to screen print over, but is not something I will be rushing to do again.
I found Illustrator difficult to get my head round although did manage to do a couple of images for my screen, I will most certainly try to master Illustrator as I can see the potential for the future. Another software that nearly drove me to distraction was Photoshop but fortunately it clicked and then I found I really enjoyed using Photoshop. Again I can see the potential for Photoshop in the future in my work as a designer.

Celia Birtwell

 Celia Birtwell was David Hockney's  muse.

 I love the colours and the simple motifs of the fabric designs.

One of Birtwell fabric designs and Clarks
fashion designs.

Celia Birtwell and Ossie Clark.

 Celia Birtwell  born in Bury and brought up in Prestwich  Manchester. At the age of 13years  Celia passed an exam to go to Salford Art School where she studied textiles. The school was part of Salford technical College in a Victorian building and overlooked the Georgian crescent called Peel Park. In 1959 she met the 16-year-old fashion designer Ossie Clarket in a coffee bar. Little did she know
from that meeting, how her life would change and she would become a very famous fabric designer who would marry Ossie Clark the fashion designer and become one of the most famous partnerships working in fashion in the 1960's.

One of Birtwell fabric designs.

They both went to live and work in London. Had two children. Eventually they opened a boutique called Quorum, on Kings Road, London.

 More designs by Celia and Ossie.

 Celia Birtwell had her fabric designs screen printed by a company in London. She always chose the fabrics she for printing. Often her designs would be printed on chiffon, silk, satin and crêpe.

Love the simple design.


 I  adore  Celia Birtwell's fabric designs they are very colourful large prints of flowers or leaves.
Celia was also well-known for her abstract prints which also were big and bold.  Her fabrics looked
fanastic made into fashion items. Many of her fabric designs were worn by the popstars of the 1960s.






 Celia is still designing fabrics, this time for the home. Shame really, because her fashion fabrics were absolutely  fabulous. The clothes made by Celia and Ossie command high prices in the vintage market. What I liked about her designs are, the simplicity and the colours she uses they are very striking and very, very desirable even today.

Hand painted Croquis's.

These are my hand painted croguis's using my colour palette.
I really enjoyed doing these hand-painted designs. I just found it so peaceful sat quietly mixing my paints and working out the designs. I think I'd like to do more of this, you don't feel the pressure as you do when using Photoshop.

Photoshop Designs

 This Photoshop design is made up from my flower data.

 In this design I have used  1 of my motifs witches from the flower data.

 Another image were  I used my four motifs.

 These are selection of my Photoshop designs where I have used  up to four motifs.
I really enjoyed doing photo shop, even though I had such a struggle to learn how to use it. Some days I was in absolute despair and couldn't sleep. Now I'm far more confident about using Photoshop and realise how much potential the software has.

Motifs for Photoshop.

This image is from my maths data.

 This image is from my flower data.

 This image is from my airport data.

 In this last image is also from my flower data.

 With these four images I will use these in Photoshop to create my own designs.

Tie- Dyeing

 My tie dye fabric.

 I dyed the fabric with a coffee/sandy coloured dye and then tied it in two places with knot. Then I mixed some dyes to die the fabric brown as you can see the fabric turned out blue! Actually I think the photograph looks better than the actual fabric but the problem is it doesn't match my colour palette! If the dye had turned out brown it would have fitted in my colour palette very nicely. But that's life.
I have to say, I'm not a fan of dip dyeing or tie dyeing. Reminds me of the times when tie-dyeing was in fashion and I wasn't very keen on it then. Maybe I could use it if I embroidered into it or printed over it. But I don't think it's be a technique I will use very often.

Textile design

While I was surfing the Internet I came across this lovely piece of textile design made in 1763 in Lyon, France artist/maker is unknown. The materials and techniques are gouache an ink on printed paper. I thought it was such a beautiful piece of work that I must share it with you, my viewers. Unfortunately, at the moment it's in storage in the V&A Museum.

Sanderson's textiles.

 These designs I have found on the Sanderson's website to show the beautiful fabrics Sanderson's have made over the years. As you can see some of them are very old-fashioned and some are very bright and modern. This of course is a very small selection of the fabrics there are available.

Sanderson's fabric designer unknown 1870.

 Another habit by Sanderson's designer unknown.

 Another fabric by Sanderson's again designer unknown.

 Sanderson's have been screen printing over hundred and 50 years and produces wallpaper and textiles. Commissioning artists like Piper and Spender and also bought a number of its patterns from Italy and the US. Sanderson is also brought out some stimulating pop patterns in keeping with the zeitgeist. Sanderson's are still to this day producing screenprinted fabrics which are still very popular for furnishings in the house. Often  printing on linen, silk or cotton. I personally love Sanderson's textiles and have used them for curtains, loose covers, cushion covers. And have also used Sanderson's fabrics to make my own tablecloths and napkins to much or mismatch in some cases.

Terence Conran

 Terence Conran fabrics from the 1960s.



Terence Conran established two manufacturing companies during the 1950s, Conran furniture and Conran fabrics. He  he sources textiles and furnishings from number of companies. Many of these goods were not available elsewhere in Britain. Prices below to enable customers to replace household items every few years as fashions change the products were displayed in mass and within easy reach by the end of the decade, habitat had nine UK branches. Terence Conran changed the way we shopped and furnished our houses back in the 1960s. Today Terence Conran is still designing furniture for the home.

Zika Ascher.

Zika Asche came to England from Prague in 1939 and established a small textile business in London with his wife Lida. During the 1940s the Aschers commissioned leading artists such as Matisse and  Henry Moore to design a selection of headscarves to brighten up the dull post-war British wardrobe. From 1946 Ascher  supplied  fabrics to the international fashion industry. They opened their print works and became known for lively  screen printed designs and Ascher Textiles now feature regularly in exhibitions and auction.

 These are their designs used for fashion designers as seen above.

 These are designs by Ascher's wife. In 1961 Lida  begins designing ponchos and wraps from leftover mohair and silk. This evolves into a poverty line of clothing and assess raise in 1962. 

William Morris.

Have recently been looking at certain textile designers. And of course the king of all screen printers is William Morris with all his beautiful designs and prints. I just love William Morris work and would like to visit his place Kelmscott Manor near Oxford, which one day I will do.William Morris was born 1834 – died 1896 and was a designer and maker.

 This design is called Strawberry Thief  1883. This was William Morris most expensive printed furnishing
fabric and became a firm favourite with his clients. The pattern was printed by the Indigo discharge method an ancient
technique used for many centuries mostly in the East. William Morris admired the colour and crispness  of detail that this technique produced. This design was block printed on cotton and took a long time to produce. Therefore it was very expensive to buy.

Screen Print Samples.

This is an image of the VW beetle car screen printed
on dip dyed linen scrim and then stitched into.

 This screenprint was on white white linen scrim which didn't look right with my colour palette
so I dyed the background with coffee and then again stitched into it.

 Another screen print on line scrim again dyed with coffee and stitched into.

 This image has been screen printed onto light silk habotai.



I really enjoyed print it was quite challenging trying to get your colour Palette right and varying the patterns across the fabric. The fabric had chosen was white linen scrim  which was far too light for the background of my of my colour palette. So I decided the best way round this is to to dye the background colour coffee, and the best into use was coffee itself. I was pleased with the results as I felt the screen printing was not as stark as the white background. After I finished the samples I decided to stitching to them to add some texture and I felt this worked and I could see that some of the images could be made up to cushions and curtains. I haven't yet decided whether I really like them or not. I think I will have to wait to get all my work together and see how it works for the presentation.

Storey's Art Gallery

 These are the beautiful stained glass windows along the corridor towards the main gallery.
Just past the windows you can see the arches towards the main gallery.

 This is a lovely photograph of the statue of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the recess of the main gallery .

I was invited to the opening of the North Face Exhibition held at Lancaster's Storey's Art gallery.
The North Face Exhibition consists of local artists from the Lune Valley Trail and has been shown around Britain. In the main gallery room exhibits the artists paintings/drawings and the room off the main gallery exhibits the artists self portraits. The exhibition was very busy the first night we had the mayor and the local MP to open the exhibition.

The Storey's  art gallery was originally the Lancaster art school before it was transferred to Preston.
The art school was known as the Storey's Institute and had been art school from the 1900s. When the  school closed it was empty for a few years and then a few local artists got together and opened it as a gallery. The gallery held local exhibitions and the more well-known artists of Britain, example: Basil Beattie, Andy Goldsworthy and Michael Brennan-wood just to mention a few.

 Inside the picture gallery.

 Photograph of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert statue in the picture gallery.

 Busy night at the opening of the gallery.

 This is the room that leads off the main gallery which is exhibiting the self-portrait pictures of the artists themselves.

 Another photograph taken of the opening.

  as you can see is a very fine building.

 Another picture of the main gallery.

 The main gallery.

 This is a photograph of David Davies  who originally set up the North Face exhibition.

I really enjoyed the opening and to see so many people interested in local artists and their art !

Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt Was the German photographer born 1865 – 1932.
German photographer who uses fantastic photographs of plants to educate students about the design  elements in nature. He devoted himself to the study of nature, photographing nothing but flowers, buds and seeds for 35 years.  His photographs are recognised as vital contributions of photography to this day.

 These are just a few of his black-and-white photographs taken of flowers and plants and seeds. Most certainly a very interesting photographer who I would like to spend more time studying.